


Purpose.

by Ember360



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bittersweet, Character Study, Emotional Flowey (Undertale), Gen, Gender-Neutral Chara (Undertale), Hurt/Comfort, Papyrus is the Best (Undertale), Parallels, Pre-Canon, Worried Papyrus (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29055723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember360/pseuds/Ember360
Summary: Papyrus is determined to help everyone he cares about, no matter what it takes.Flowey's heard that before.
Relationships: Flowey & Papyrus (Undertale)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 20





	Purpose.

**Author's Note:**

> My Undertale hyperfixation from 5th-7th grade, sneaking up on me: betcha thought you'd seen the last of me. bitch. (kills you)
> 
> anyway, (Flowey voice) I'm going to project my problems onto this skeleton and it's going to help no-one
> 
> Content Warnings:  
> -emotional repression  
> -mentions of depression  
> -death mention, discussion of murder and genocide  
> -flowey being an edgy little bitch  
> -threats (not carried out tho)

Papyrus made it his duty to look out for his friends. How could he not, when he was the most responsible, inspiring, strongest skeleton in the whole Underground?! Making sure everyone was alright was practically in the job description. And it came naturally to him, after so many years of it just being him and his brother against the odds. Someone had to make sure Sans got out of bed and ate healthy food instead of just greasy junk or didn't accidentally hurt himself or freeze out in the snow because he fell asleep there again or piss off the wrong person and get into a fight or haphazardly use his powers and teleport into a tough spot or-

The point was, Papyrus had always been a caretaker at heart. He would always be there to lend a helping hand to whoever might need it- even if they didn't want it. 

Flowey was no exception. 

Admittedly, Papyrus had never truly understood the talking flower. He would often mutter or say strange things, about time and files, or make strange comments that made it sound like he knew things that he shouldn't. Nevertheless, he was one of Papyrus's best friends- _only_ friends. Besides Sans and Undyne. Though sometimes Flowey would insist that Sans didn't count because he was his brother... He was probably just jealous because he wanted to be Papyrus's favorite. The skeleton would always reassure the flower, saying "NOTHING TO FEAR, MY FRIEND! THE GREAT PAPYRUS LOVES AND CHERISHES EACH OF HIS COMPANIONS EQUALLY!!! (nyeheheheh!)". Flowey always seemed ever-so-slightly aggravated when he did that, but he was probably just flustered.

Recently, though, Papyrus hadn't seen Flowey at all. Maybe.. He was just busy? But with what? Flowey always complained about how bored he was all the time... Maybe he had just found something to do and wasn't bored anymore and was having a great time! 

Without Papyrus. Because he was apparently not interesting enough to talk to anymore. 

With a sigh, the skeleton stood from their usual meeting place. He had been waiting for three whole hours now and it seemed like his floral friend wasn't going to be showing up. N- no matter, though! He could use the extra time by perfecting his nearby puzzles! It was fine! It was fine... Flowey had just forgotten, was all. Like he had the other past four times...

Papyrus kicked a lump of snow in irritation before taking a deep breath.

Right. Puzzles! He loved puzzles. Working on his own human-capturing contraptions would no doubt distract him from the fact that one of the only three people in his life that really cared about him had abandoned him without a word!!!

He began to plan out what changes he would be making to the puzzle as he walked. Maybe he should add a sort of tutorial level for that button puzzle with the x's? That way any humans would know how to solve the ice one- Papyrus was quite proud of that one, and he didn't want them to get discouraged or give up halfway through just because they didn't understand the mechanics! Maybe it would be best to provide _two_ tutorial levels in preparation. The second one would have to be more complicated than the first, of course. He'd work on the first one, then figure out how exactly he wanted to do the second later. For now he needed to set up the shape-based pressure plates, if he wanted to... to...

Papyrus stopped in his tracks, looking through the pine trees. He had thought he had seen... Yes! There it was! A glimpse of bright yellow against the snow!

Flowey.

The skeleton rushed through the tree-line and into the clearing beyond it. He began to slow down the closer he got, becoming slightly more cautious as he assessed the situation. Flowey was drooping downward, staring at the snow. Papyrus couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the usually cheery flower so downtrodden- if he ever had. 

"FLOWEY?" Papyrus said tentatively as he approached. "IS THAT YOU? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

The flower looked upwards in surprise, swiveling his stem to face him. "Oh. _Right._ I forgot _you'd_ be here," he grumbled. Papyrus ignored the annoyance in his tone and crouched down beside him with a worried expression.

"ARE YOU QUITE ALRIGHT, MY FRIEND? YOU- YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP TO OUR MEETING, SO I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE- MAYBE YOU HAD FORGOTTEN. JUST LIKE THE TIME BEFORE. AND THE TIME BEFORE THAT. AND THE... THE TIME BEFORE THE TIME BEFORE THAT- BUT IT'S FINE! YOU JUST FORGOT WAS ALL!" Papyrus fiddled with the ends of his scarf, searching Flowey's face for something, any hint of regret or apology. "R- RIGHT? YOU FORGOT?"

Flowey let out a long sigh, then finally looked him in the eye. " _Sure_ , Papyrus. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"OKAY! THOUGH THE GREAT PAPYRUS NEVER RESTS AS LONG AS THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE, I WILL TAKE THAT AS A DEFINITE 'yes papyrus I forgot and I'm very sorry and it'll never happen again because I'm your friend and I care about you as much as you care about me which is a lot'!"

"Great."

"GREAT!"

An awkward silence fell over the two of them. Flowey continued to grumpily stare at the ground, and Papyrus tried to catch his eye. He wasn't really reacting to anything the skeleton was doing- or even emoting at all, just... Staring. At nothing. He must've been deep in thought. Maybe he was upset about something?

Papyrus took a deep breath, unsure if he should ask what he really wanted to. But if Flowey wouldn't talk to him, then he supposed that bringing it up was his job. "DID... DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?" he asked. 

"No."

"OH." Papyrus looked away, but his eyes soon returned to his friend. "DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?"

"UGH!" Flowey suddenly shouted, looking at him with angry eyes. "This happens every time! I wish you'd just drop it and leave me be for once but you always come back or insist on talking to me about my problems. It's annoying!"

Papyrus crossed his arms. "WELL TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL IS VERY IMPORTANT! GOOD COMMUNICATION IS A KEY FACTOR IN ANY WELL FUNCTIONING FRIENDSHIP!"

Flowey laughed dryly. "Yeah, like you're one to talk."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

"I'm not explaining any of this to you, Papyrus, it- It doesn't matter! Even if you _could_ understand what's going on, you wouldn't be able to help me. You'll just forget it once I get bored enough of this time anyway! And then we'll start back at square one but you'll still be here, insisting that I explain it all _over_ again." 

"I- I WON'T FORGET! I PROMISE! AND I WON'T ASK AGAIN! PLEASE, JUST TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG. I WANT TO HELP YOU!"

" _Why._ " Flowey rose towards Papyrus's face, glaring at him skeptically. "Why do you care so much?"

Papyrus looked at him incredulously. "I- BE- BECAUSE YOU'RE MY FRIEND, FLOWEY! OF _COURSE_ I CARE ABOUT YOUR WELL-BEING. WHY... WHY WOULDN'T I?" 

"Because. It. Doesn't. _Matter._ " Flowey chuckled to himself, leaning back down into his wilting position. "None of this does."

"OH..." So it was _that_ kind of problem. Papyrus scooted a bit closer to Flowey, a soft (and hopefully comforting) look on his face. "YOU KNOW... SOMETIMES SANS WILL GET LIKE THAT TOO. WHERE YOU THINK THINGS DON'T MATTER JUST BECAUSE THEY MIGHT NOT- I DUNNO... MAKE THINGS DIFFERENT IN THE FUTURE? BUT... I THINK EVERYTHING WE DO MATTERS, A LITTLE BIT. I THINK JUST BEING HERE MATTERS, BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT AT LEAST YOU'RE TRYING. AND THAT HAS TO BE WORTH SOMETHING, RIGHT?" 

"Ohhhhh, _yes_ , being compared to your deadbeat, trashbag of a monster brother sure is a compliment! I feel _so_ much better," Flowey snapped before adding, "And that was sarcastic, by the way. I know you can't tell the difference through that thick skull of yours." 

"SANS ISN'T A TRASHBAG! HE'S A SKELETON! AND HE'S NOT A DEADBEAT EITHER. HE DOES PLENTY TO HELP."

"Really? Like what?" 

"WELL FOR ONE, HE DOES THE BILLING THINGIES SINCE HE'S ALL SMART AT MATH LIKE THAT. AND HE READS THINGS TO ME WHEN THE LETTERS GET ALL JUMBLY BLURRY. HE GOES TO WORK. SOMETIMES. AND HELPS AROUND THE HOUSE! IF... IF I MAKE HIM. AND HE HELPS WITH MY PUZZLES! IF HE'S NOT BUSY WITH HIS FRIENDS AT... AT GRILLBY'S... BUT HE'S ALWAYS THERE FOR ME! WHENEVER I AM FEELING EVER SO SLIGHTLY AND I MEAN JUST A TEENSY TINY BIT LESS GREAT- WHICH IS NOT A LOT OF THE TIME BUT IS IN FACT SOMETIMES- HE ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT TO SAY. " 

"Yes, yes, your co-dependency never ceases to amaze me." Flowey rolled his eyes. "But let's compare that to what _you_ do for him, hm? You always make breakfast and lunch and dinner, even if he refuses to eat it and opts to go to that greasy bar instead. You wake him up every morning and without you he'd have been fired from all those jobs a long while ago due to sleeping through them. You clean the house, you do the laundry, you repair the appliances if they break. You even complete his fair share of puzzles just out of habit so he doesn't have to do them himself. You try so _hard_ , Papyrus, you work yourself half to death, you barely sleep and all _he_ does is sit on his butt and annoy you with pestering half-baked jokes. You do so much more for him than he does for you. You could live without him." 

"THAT... THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'D WANT TO THOUGH. SANS IS MY BROTHER AND MY BEST FRIEND. EVEN IF I DID DO MORE THAN HIM, THAT STILL WOULDN'T CHANGE ANYTHING. I'D STILL WANT HIM AROUND. I CARE ABOUT HIM BECAUSE HE'S _SANS_ , NOT BECAUSE HE'S _USEFUL_ TO ME." 

Flowey huffed and turned away from Papyrus. 

"AND... THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO, FLOWEY. I CARE ABOUT YOU. AND I ALWAYS WILL. I PROMISE." 

Flowey made a face, though Papyrus could barely see it with him turned the other way. " _Why?_ " 

"BECAUSE YOU'RE WORTH CARING ABOUT," Papyrus said firmly. 

Flowey looked up at him, seemingly surprised. Papyrus just warmly grinned back at him. The flower chuckled a bit, then slowly turned to the floor. "God." His laughter began to sound more like sobs. "Papyrus, you're... You're really just a good person, aren't you? All this time, I've been trying to figure you out, trying to find what your real motive is but you're just... Kind. Genuinely, kind."

Papyrus stared at his friend in bewilderment that soon melted into awe and gratitude. "R- REALLY? I- I MEAN OF- OF COURSE! OF COURSE THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS A GOOD PERSON! I DO NOT EVER DOUBT THAT FACT- WHICH IS WHY I LOVE REPEATING IT! AND ALSO SOMETIMES MAYBE HEARING OTHER PEOPLE SAY IT- NOT THAT I NEED IT THOUGH BECAUSE, AGAIN, I AM 100% CONFIDENT IN SAID FACT."

Flowey laughed again, looking towards Papyrus. He was smiling, but something about the way his eyes looked was almost... sad. "You don't deserve this. You don't deserve any of this. Any of what I've done to you."

"UM... I'M NOT SURE I FOLLOW..." 

"Of course you don't." Flowey wilted again, almost drooping all the way to the floor. "No-one does... I guess it doesn't really matter, though. In the end, I just don't deserve you." 

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Papyrus protested, gently patting the back of Flowey's stem. "COME ON, PLEASE DON'T BE SAD! I THINK YOU'RE A VERY GOOD PERSON TOO!"

Flowey suddenly shot back up, his sorrow changing to anger instantaneously. "THAT'S EXACTLY THE PROBLEM!" he roared. A vine burst out of the snow and grabbed onto Papyrus's arm, shoving it away from the flower. "No matter what happens, you never give up on me and I wish you would! I've done terrible things." Flowey leaned over the skeleton, his face twisting into a menacing, soulless smile. "I have done things that you can only imagine in your worst of nightmares, Papyrus. And I can and will do them again."

"W- WELL, I MUST ADMIT! THAT IS INDEED VERY OMINOUS AND QUITE HONESTLY A BIT UPSETTING!" Papyrus scrambled backward a little bit. Why was Flowey doing this? He had always been so nice... Papyrus didn't understand... _"No-one does."_ "BUT... I STILL BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHOOSE TO BE BETTER."

Flowey scoffed. "You don't know anything about me."

"NO, I DO KNOW SOMETHING. I KNOW THAT YOU WERE NICE TO ME, ONCE. AND YOU CAN BE THAT WAY AGAIN. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS _TRY_."

Flowey glared at him. "And why would I do that? Why should I try?"

"BECAUSE HURTING PEOPLE IS WRONG! NO-ONE DESERVES THAT! YOU SAID IT YOURSELF."

"No, I said _you_ don't deserve it."

"WELL THERE YOU GO THEN! THAT'S A START! YOU SHOULD TRY TO BE GOOD, AND TRY NOT TO HURT ME BECAUSE I DON'T DESERVE IT, LIKE YOU SAID."

Flowey blinked. "That... Hm." Flowey stopped looming over Papyrus for a moment. He held one smaller vine to his face, contemplating something. Meanwhile, Papyrus tried to catch his breath and make his bones stop rattling. 

After a few more moments of thought, Flowey turned back to him. "Okay. Here's the thing though, Papyrus. I... Don't care." Flowey chuckled softly. "Like, I could kill you without remorse right now, and the only thing I'd feel would be a hint of disappointment! I could kill everyone in the entire Underground and I'd only be sad because I'd be bored having nothing but dust for company."

"HM. THAT _IS_ PRETTY CONCERNING." Papyrus rung his hands nervously. "BUT IT COULD BE WORSE???"

Flowey stared at him, utterly befuddled. "H- how could it get any worse than _killing everyone_ and not feeling a thing!?"

"WELL... YOU COULD FEEL _GOOD_ ABOUT KILLING PEOPLE!"

"I... Wow. That is a _concerningly_ low bar."

"BUT ONE YOU CAN REACH!!!"

"I _guess!_ " 

"SEE? YOU _CAN_ BE GOOD, FLOWEY. I KNOW YOU CAN. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TRY." Papyrus waved his hands around enthusiastically. "AND I CAN HELP YOU! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS THE GOODEST AT BEING GOOD AND THE BESTEST AT TRYING! I CAN GIVE YOU TIPS AND ADVICE LIKE YOU USED TO GIVE ME! IT'LL BE FUN!!!"

Flowey looked at him for a long moment, before turning back to the snow. "You sure are determined to help people, huh?"

"OF COURSE! I AM VERY EXTREMELY HELPFUL ALL OF THE TIME! MY ASSISTANCE IS TOP NOTCH QUALITY AND ALWAYS WORKS! " 

"Why?"

"WELL, BECAUSE I'M THE BEST AT-"

Flowey rolled his eyes again. "No, not that. Why do you feel the need to help people all the time?"

Papyrus looked in the other direction, unsure of what to say. "WELL, I- I DON'T KNOW, I JUST FEEL LIKE IT'S SORT OF MY... RESPONSIBILITY, AS SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HE'S VERY GREAT TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE REALIZE THAT THEY ARE AND/OR CAN BE VERY GREAT AS WELL. LIKE IT'S MY... PURPOSE."

Flowey laughed again, his voice heavy with something. "It's funny... You remind me of them sometimes." 

"THEM?"

"Yeah, my-" He sighed. "An old friend. But they're gone now."

"OH. I'M... I'M SORRY."

"No, it's... It's fine. Actually, it's a bit comforting at times! You're surprisingly good at backing me up into corners, argument-wise. It's aggravating in the moment, but something new in the long run, so I can't complain. That's what I'm looking for, after all." 

"YOU'RE... WELCOME???" Papyrus said hesitantly. Being argumentative didn't seem like something that would be particularly helpful but if that's what Flowey wanted...? "I MEAN, YE- YES! YOU'RE WELCOME! DOING... WHATEVER YOU JUST SAID IS SOMETHING I DO VERY WELL! AND ON PURPOSE! ALL THE TIME!" 

"Heh. What I mean to say is... Thank you, I guess. For always being here."

Papyrus's smile softened. "OF COURSE. YOU'RE MY FRIEND, FLOWEY. AND I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS. WE CAN BOTH DO THIS."

"Let me guess..." Flowey turned back to him, a tired smile on his face. "Because we 'have to', right?" 

Papyrus paused, not knowing what to say, what Flowey needed him to say... Flowey chuckled once more. "Right. You won't say it, will you? That's fine. I know you're different than them, despite the similarities. You're a lot more gentle when it comes to these things, after all... But I already know how you feel." 

"I REALLY DO BELIEVE IN YOU," Papyrus whispered.

"I know, Papyrus." Flowey looked upwards, his voice softer than Papyrus had ever heard it be.

Papyrus followed his gaze upward, past the treetops and to the cavern's ceiling. Sans had told him a long time ago, about how the sky on the Surface would go dark during night, and you could see these little lights- stars, he had called them. He told him about all the pictures you could see in the stars, constellations that each told a story. They sounded wonderful. Papyrus wished that, maybe, one day, he and Flowey could sit together like this and look up and see the stars. And Papyrus could tell him about all the constellations. And Flowey could be good.

"I know..."

**Author's Note:**

> I know that Papyrus and Asriel tend to have more similarities canon-wise, but I'm curious as to how Flowey sees it. Given the fact that Flowey finds Papyrus to be the more intriguing skeleton brother, I like to think that maybe he's projecting a little bit and sees Chara in him a lot. Maybe that's the reason that they became friends in the first place, who knows. 
> 
> Since I didn't quite make it as obvious as I could have, here's just some Chara and Papyrus similarities (also btw I am firmly on the Chara Defense Squad side of things if one could not tell already jkhgkgfk):  
> -Genuinely wants to help people however they can (Chara sacrificing themself so monsters can be free, Papyrus trying to help you on your journey through the Underground)  
> -Feels as though it is their duty to keep people safe/happy (Chara seeing it as their duty to free monsterkind, Papyrus taking it upon himself to help you reach Asgore safely and also take care of Sans)  
> -Caretaker/Older Sibling Vibes (YES I KNOW SANS IS CANONICALLY OLDER OR WHATEVER LET ME HAVE THIS GRRRRRR)  
> -Self-sacrificial martyr :( pls go 2 therapy (Chara dying so that monsters can be free, Papyrus sparing you in Genocide route because he might have a chance at stopping you even though he knows you'll probably kill him)  
> -Backstory unexplained yet there is clearly Something Up with them... dam bro who gave you that Emotional Trauma  
> -Wildly mischaracterized by a good portion of the fandom :-)  
> -Determination, baby! (Papyrus being determined to help you make friends with Undyne, or being determined to capture you, or being determined to believe in you even when you're killing everyone: choose your fighter. Also I don't think I need to explain why Chara is determined gjgfkjkgk)  
> - ~~Dying while their sibling watches, unable to do anything~~  
>  -Being Flowey approved!  
> -I love them :)
> 
> There are probably more, but I just don't have the brainpower to think of them. Feel free to comment anything else you might've found. Or just comment in general :)! I know that there are probably a lot more differences between Papyrus and Chara than there are similarities but again this is through Flowey's point of view and he does tend to project his problems/experiences onto others. Eh. Maybe this is all just a big stretch but gdi I am willing to reach <3
> 
> ANYWAY now that my nonsense is over time to get into the actual fic jkhgfkgfhk
> 
> This is, obviously, set before Frisk fell into the Underground so Flowey still has the power to Reset and stuff. It's right when Flowey gets a little bit bored of the whole Hey Maybe Killing People Would Be Funny Actually idea and starts to just kinda sulk/see if there's literally anything new he can find by just messing around idly. He's bored and frustrated at this point but not near giving up yet. I'm sure he'll find something fun soon. 
> 
> Papyrus at this point is mainly just confused. It's kinda my headcanon that he and Sans can both remember resets but only vaguely through dreams, flashbacks, deja vu, that sort of stuff. Papyrus is definitely more in denial about the whole thing, as he is with so many other things. There haven't been enough Resets for him to connect all the dots quite yet- he will eventually tho. Right now, he's mainly just concerned about Flowey but also a little bit upset with him because he ditched him so many times. Also having Flowey get angry with him and being all up in his face tends to make him very nervous. Gee, I wonder why! 
> 
> As one can probably guess the whole "you're one to talk" thing is referring to the fact that both skelebros cannot talk about their feelings to save their life. Papyrus is living in a constant state of denial whereas Sans doesn't think it'll make much of a difference either way. They both don't want to bother or worry the other, therefore creating an infinite cycle of emotional repression! Yippee! 
> 
> Papyrus does make quite a few good points here about Flowey having the capability to be a good person if he just tries. Flowey really doesn't like being reminded that this is all his choice, that just because he can't feel doesn't mean he isn't responsible for his actions. He still has some semblance of emotions and does kind of feel bad for putting Papyrus through all this. Ew, feelings! Quit it! Mainly he just dismisses people when they bring this sort of stuff up, but given the fact that Papyrus reminds him of Chara he tends to take his points more seriously. Still, he's stubborn as ever and nothing Papyrus can say will really change him. Although I do like to think that in the next few Resets after this, Flowey does makes an effort to not hurt anyone. He'll get bored of that eventually though... Then it's back to Unnecessary Violence Unlimited!
> 
> Well, that's kind of all I have to say about this and also I'm nearing the character limit :') Thank you so much for reading! I love you, bye!


End file.
